Covering Climate Now has become a go-to reference for freelance journalist Johani Ponce, showing how CCNow’s resources are essential not only for major newsrooms but also for independent reporters working across multiple outlets. Johani specializes in climate reporting and brings this beat to Latino communities in the US and Latin America through her work with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Conecta Arizona, IQ Latino, and others.
CCNow’s editorial materials, especially the story ideas and media analysis, play a key role in shaping her work: “The story ideas have been very useful to me,” she says. As a freelancer, she appreciates being able to select from a broad, well-informed context: “I have freedom, I’m a freelancer, and what helps me most is the general overview of what’s happening.”
Johani got the idea for her story “Las mujeres se preocupan más por el clima que los hombres” (“Women Worry More About Climate Than Men”) after reading a study featured in one of CCNow’s newsletters. Published in Jevas Combativas, a digital outlet with a Latina feminist audience, the story dives into gender disparities in climate concern, using data and expert voices to spark reflection. It’s a powerful example of how climate is an all-beats topic, in this case intersecting with gender, culture, and identity. Johani adds: “English-language outlets have more money than we do, and their coverage is more complete”, but CCNow helps bridge that gap. “I give it a Latino focus,” she says, reframing global climate stories and conversations to make them more relevant for her audiences.